Monday, July 30, 2007

FRAGRANT SWEDISH RYE BREAD

The ever active Zorra at "Kochtopf" (Spain) has once again organized a wonderful event under the sign of bread. Is is called "Bread Baking Day" and it's second edition has already been launched!This time, it is hosted by Becke at the great "Columbus Foodie" (USA) and the subject is "Bread With Fruits". All the informations needed can be found on her blog (see infos), but don't forget that the closing date isAugust the 1st 2007...

For "Bread Baking Day #2" I decided to bake a "Fragrant Swedish Rye Bread" which's recipe I found on Alanna Kellog's interesting blog "Kitchen Parade" (USA). Although it doesn't really contain any fruit, it is nonetheless aromatized with orange zest, so I guess that it is still somehow related to fruits.

This "Swedish Rye Bread" is excellent. Being made with rye flour it is somehow slightly hearty, but at the same time, it is also very light, fluffy, moist and smooth. This delightful bread's incredible and original flavor originates from the caraway/fennel seeds as well as the orange rind that are used in the confection of this awesome speciality from the north! The crust is gorgeously crunchy and tasty to please. Being not too dark, yet not plain at all, this loaf will rejoice the amateurs of both white and brown breads as well as the lovers of brioche type breads.

Method:1. In small bowl, proof yeast with 1/2 cup warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar.2. In large mixing bowl, mix together the remaining water, the salt, the honey, the sugar, the caraway seeds and the orange zest.3. Gently stir in 1 cup plain flour and the proofed yeast.4. Add remaining flours until combined, knead for about 10 minutes, adding flour as needed.5. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.6. Punch down, let rest for 1o minutes and form into a loaf.7. Transfer to a greased loaf pan, cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes.Preheat the oven at 190° C (375° F).

8. Bake in preheated oven for 35 – 45 minutes until golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath..9. Let cool for 5 minutes, remove from pan, brush top with butter.10. Finish cooling on a wire rack.

Remarks:Both fennel seeds and ground fennel work, so does caraway. You can even mix both.You can use dark rye flour or light rye flour if you wish.Instead of taking only honey for this recipe, you can use a mix of both honey and molasses (2/3 honey and 1/3 molasses).When proofing the yeast (point 1), if it doesn’t bubble up, then the yeast is dead and you’ll need to repeat this step with new yeast.

Serving suggestions:Eat this bread with honey, jam or even cheese. In fact, it's fine with every kind of accompaniment or spread...